LSE set to merge with Toronto exchange in £4.2bn deal

The London Stock Exchange is set to acquire the Toronto Stock Exchange in a £4.2bn deal, creating a major trading centre for mining shares.

The groups are said to be in advanced talks and will go ahead if political opposition in Canada, which is sensitive to M&A surrounding its larger institutions, can be overcome.

A trans-Atlantic exchange operator of this kind would instantly create a world premier venue for the trading of mining and energy stocks, a sector that has surged with soaring commodity prices, Reuters reports.

Some of the largest mining companies are listed in London while Canada's TMX boasts major gold companies as well as junior miners.

The BBC reports the venture will have joint market capitalisation of as much as £5.5bn.

Justin Urquhart Stewart, of Seven Investment Management, says the potential merger could lead to more lucrative deals for the LSE.

"This would take them from 10th or 11th in the international league to fifth or sixth," he tells the BBC.

"It will allow them to have greater pools of liquidity and develop derivatives, but it is not the big story. The big story would be a potential linkage with one of the Indian markets, or potentially Singapore or maybe China.

"That is where they will get into a much larger scale operation. As yet we do not know anything, but watch India over the next few months."

The news follows the Singapore Exchange's proposed acquisition of the Australian stock exchange operator for £4.84bn, but they too face political opposition in Australia.